"Give the people who buy your paper the straight news they pay for?"
"Certainly, the paper will be run that way."
"As easy as rolling off a log," put in McGuire Ellis, with suspicious smoothness.
Veltman looked from one to the other. "Yes," he said: and again "Yes-s-s." But the life had gone from his voice. "Anything more?"
"Nothing, thank you," answered Hal.
"Brains, fire, ambition, energy, skill, everything but balance," said Ellis, as the door closed. "He's the stuff that martyrs are made of—or lunatics. Same thing, I guess."
"Isn't he a trouble-maker among the men?"
"No. He's a good workman. Something more, too. Sometimes he writes paragraphs for the editorial page; and when they're not too radical, I use 'em. He's brought us in one good feature, that 'Kitty the Cutie' stuff."
"I'd thought of dropping that. It's so cheap and chewing-gummy."
"Catches on, though. We really ought to run it every day. But the girl hasn't got time to do it."